In Italy they sit alfresco at little cafe tables, gabbing and nibbling on food, neighbors walk by chatting and sometimes stop for a moment.Wait, thats not Italy, thats OTR.You don't need much to live like that. A cool neighborhood, a pleasant evening and a good group of freinds, and you're pretty much set.And you know what, a good hamburger wouldn't hurt.

Welcome, welcome to OTR. (Pandaman is like our own personal greeter you know.)

Does it get better than this? Can it get better than this? Trick question, no, of course it can't.

The debate: the best burger in Cincinnati. OK, first thing, define best. What is best? If looked at from every single angle, the most delisious hamburger, in the best location and setup giving you the best story to tell, there's no way anyone comes close to Cafe de Wheels.

At this point, it's a good idea to stop pretending like you don't care about good burgers.And check out CityBeat's dining guide, we rave about Cafe de Wheels there too.[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati

What a turn out last night, congrats to Watch This and the Al & Al show for putting on the event. It sounds like around 270 people showed up to watch. From those two watching AFI's top 100 movies in their apartment to 5 months later hosting almost 300 people to join in is just incredible. An avalache of excitement it has to be those those two I'm sure.Back to Indiana Jones, #60 on AFI's top 100 films of all time. Just watching the opening scene I took a deep breath and thought "wow, forgot just how good this movie was" I've haven't seen it in years, the momeries fade and I kind of remember it being a little hokey, and maybe it was a little, but it was good. All the scenes were tight, every angle, shadow or laugh was exactly where it should be to convey the mood of that scene. Looking back now 30yrs, you can really see how it has influenced so many action films, most notably the famous swordsman scene where Indy pulls out his gun and shots him.Fantastic movie, event and crowd.Good job Alex and Allison.

[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnaticomments?

i came to Cin-say to make rock 'n' rollalong the way, I had to sell my soulI made some good friends that make me sayI really wannabe in Cin-sayEagles of Death Metal ~Wannabe in LA

Downtown/OTR where all the excitement isIt sends you a message: you could do more; you should try harder.So I do. try harder that is. There's so much to do, its impossible to do nothing.

What ends up on the blog is less important than the inspiration, motivation and the process. Its about the ethos of the city, and me.

One thing I've noticed, people give lip service to loving Cincinnati and/or downtown. It's easy for them to say I'm all about downtown when they're promoting themselves.But its not enough to say it, you have to believe it and live it and I do, or aspire to do just that.I never claimed to be unbiased, and probably never will be about downtown Cincinnati.Right now, everyone has declared war on the city, Cincinnati is a punching bag for politicians and people in the burbs worried about their way of life, well I'm pushing back. Pushing back big time.

One of my greatest wishes is that Cincinnati would get over its inferiority complex and realize just how great it is. Stop worrying about Indy and C-Bus and Portland. This is Porkopolis, its time to embrace our inner pork and let our pork flag fly.[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati10 comments

if you're going to play hooky from work, there's worse things you can do than catch a ball game. hang out on a warm day, watch the Redlegs kick some butt, oh yeah. have these guys been on a tear or what? best defense in the NL, best batting average with a runner on base in the NL. if they can get Votto and Bruce slugging again they'll be scary.I love these old time pictures they showcase between innings, has it been a year? or longer? whatever that scoreboard still blows my mind.

what are these guys always talking about anyhow?

ahhhh yeah, partly cloudy, these days are the best

Y M

C A

[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati

Remember the scorcher it was last year? Everyone melting in thie 90°heat?Yep, the decision to move it back into May paid off big time, cooler and not as humid let us hang out all day, and what a day it was. I liked the expanded venue, with everything spilling out into the street we didn't feel so packed into the lot like last year.A really good vibe going on down there.I'm not a running enthusiast so I have no idea, but 15.19 for a 5k seems damn fast.

Good line up of bands, I'd say Zumba rocks, but thats probably not the right term is it?

If the CBD/OTR isn't one big neighborhood I don't know what is, everyone knows everyone.

AVS and Bill Murray

sums it up, partly sunny all day

cool cat just watchin the world go by

[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati3 comments

If you follow this blog regularly you know we've been dropping in here and there on Alex & Allison's project, Watch This.If you been thinking, "hey meeting a bunch of cool people and watching one of the 100 best movies in the history of the universe sounds pretty cool" but you've been hestitant to go to a strangers house to watch, this Wednesday is your golden opportuniy. Watch this will be hosted by The 20th Century Theatre this Wednesday, May 26 at 7pm.Go to a theatre, watch the 60th best movie ever made. For free!Bring a date, or the kids. Its going to be like going to a real movie, if you're an introvert no ones forcing you to have contact with an actual human being, you can just sit in the dark and watch.If you want to hang out in the lobby before hand and meet cool people, hey, theres room for you too.Whatever, get to Oakley Wednesday and watch a movie.If you have questions, leave a comment or email Alex. Its going to be a good time.[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati

Twitter absolutely exploded yesterday afternoon with news Shepard Fairey's mural in Covington had been painted over. You can find all the sordid details here, but some of the comments like "its a foreigner with an American rifle!" blew my mind. really guy, thats what you got from a mural portraying children pulled into the ugliness of war in 3rd world countries?We were driving around, talked to Kimberly Holmes from Fox19 and then stumbled upon Fairey finishing up a mural on Walnut. You can read that story here with a quote from me at the end.Crazy day all around it was.